"Climbing" small beaded wall sculpture

"Climbing" is the small version of that which I would like to create of a much larger scale.  I started in on the beaded "tree" portion of this piece and was lucky enough to find the perfect frame at Lamb's Gate Antiques in Old Town.

 

The big focus with this piece was beading the small individual sculptures and then stitching them together.  I'm excited that they really worked well with each other.  Almost as though I had planned it out.  However, you have to understand that I prefer to work conceptually and fingers crossed - hope it looks as attractive as I was hoping in my head. 

Often I'll finish a piece and it has to grow on me, but I'm happy to say that I fell in love with "Climbing" immediately.  Now, back to beading more sculptures!!!

It is available to see in person right now at Grove Gallery in East Lansing, MI.  The exhibit will be up until April 30, 2013.

 

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the

Arts Council of Greater Lansing

Spring Jewelry at the Lansing Art Gallery

I think that hell froze over because I've been making jewelry in pastels.  Actually, Hell, MI is probably still frozen, we're having the coldest March!

Maybe it's the overabundance of mint green that was in fashion last spring/summer and is coming back in full force, or I just need a change of pace.  So mint green, lime green, turquoise, lavender and off-whites have been my draw since I started in on making spring jewelry.

 

The above bangle was inspired by a shirt that I saw in the window at Pitaya while driving down Grand River last week. I made the bangle, and bought the shirt. 

 

 

Lavender and green swarovski pearl earrings

 

 

Mint green and off white swarovski pearl earrings

 

I dropped off the above three pieces along with a variety of pinks to the Lansing Art Gallery last week. They should be out by now, so take a look if you get the chance while your in downtown Lansing!

"She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees"

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

 

I'm not sure what else I can say about "She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees."  After blogging so much about the process and the piece, I have these great photos and am still excited by the final product.

 

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

 

My husband says that I only pay attention to the smallest details and never look at the big picture.  And he's correct.  I can get so obsessed about a tiny little thing or project without seeing how insignificant it is in the grand scheme of things.  I planned this piece with that idea in mind. 

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

 

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

 

There is a ton of tiny detail in "She Can't See the Forest through the Trees" and as it hangs together, it is hard to process it all. You'll just have to come visit it at Grove Gallery (exhibit is up through the end of April!).  From there, I plan on entering it into other exhibits, so fingers crossed it will be traveling soon.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the

Arts Council of Greater Lansing

Cluster Pendant

 

This past holiday season I had a customer purchase a pair of cluster earrings.  I had made them a little larger than usual and to match my plum dress.  She wanted a piece to match them, but I had nothing on hand.  So we discussed her interest in a pendant, but instead of the flat-leaf style I have been making, she wanted something that was more like one of the ends of the lariat necklaces that I make.

 

 

I told her that I would try to do it, but it being a new design, I wouldn't really be available to wrap my head around it until after March 3rd (my opening).  So I worked on it last week and the above photos are what I came up with.  I'm still on the fence about it, but I met with my customer and she loved it.  This was exactly what she had in mind, so I'm happy that she's happy.

 

I'm not sure that I will be keeping this pendant in stock, but I'd be happy to take on special orders.  They are currently $75.00 each.

"In Progress" Double Weave

I've started a few blogs based on my exhibit pieces, but as requested from Rebecca, here's the "In Progress"details.

The idea behind this piece sprouted from working on "She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees."  I really love integrating text into double weave, and as I was working along on the three panels I kept telling people that I was "In progress" or "being productive but nothing was finished yet."  And this is truly how I work (luckily, as a friend pointed out to me once, I actually finish things).

Beaded edging detail on the right side of this photo.

I always have at least 4 project focuses going on at once. Usually a weaving, 1-3 beading pieces, a knitting project, and lately something sculptural. So I'm always in progress.  My poor husband deals with my collecting of "junk" for pieces that I dream up making.  He was not happy about all the dirty roots I've made him keep as he pulled them out of the yard until "Uprooted 1" was actually finished.  Now he's excited for me to make a whole army of them for a larger installation.

I'm very good at staying focused when I'm "in progress." I can sit and work on one beaded piece or weaving for 8 hours straight in the right mood. That's what the top portion of this weaving represents.  However, the words wandering off into vines and various floating shapes is me, wandering around the house, picking at a project here and there or starting something completely new.

I chose thesae colors because I believe red gives me the feeling of some sense of urgency. Particularly bright red.  I dyed the rayon to go from a fuschia color, which is a relaxed, plodding along on a piece side of me.  The urgency comes when I start mentally wandering.  I need to get my hands on something new, I've got this great idea that I have to start right now. 

I know I'm not the only artist that works this way, and we all work very differently.  Some people can relate to small portions of this weaving, others may not.  All in all, it was very well-recieved at the Opening Reception.  These pictures do not quite do the colors justice, it's quite brilliant in person.

"Creating a Nature" Opening Reception follow-up

This past Sunday was the opening reception for my exhibit "Creating a Nature: A Fiber Art Exhibit"  I thank everyone who came so very much, there was a ton of love and support during a packed afternoon.  I had family in from the Ann Arbor, Fenton, and the Kalamazoo area. A friend came down from her place up north just for the opening, an artist that has watched me develop in fibers since I was 12 years old was there, and many other local artists and friends came by. I met a number of new people who loved my work to boot!

Thank you to my family who made it out for this reception and my mom who took all the photos for this blog post (I'm horrible at taking photos of anything but my work).  Also to my parents for making dinner post-show and leaving us yummy leftovers.  (Mom just figured out there was a smudge on her camera lens, hence the smudge in the photos!)

Thank you to the Arts Council of Greater Lansing for awarding me the 2012 Individual Artist's Grant.  I have been talking about making pieces on this scale for 2 or more years.  This grant gave me the kick in the pants to actually work with these ideas and start to develop where they're going.

Thank you so much to Deb and Gretel.  They were key parts in helping me hang this show on Friday.  I could not have done it without them.  I was dog tired and my wits hanging by a thread.  I'm glad they both were there because so often I want to do things on my own.  It would not look so well if I had insisted on doing it alone!

Jenny Schu and the last finished piece "In Progress" double weave

I finished "In Progress" the week of the show going up, but it got crazy at our place in the final stretch.  More to come on the individual pieces from this show.  I plan on taking the next week or two to relax some and also bulk up my jewelry stock since I have not been making jewelry lately.

Family Photo Left to right: Zack, me, Ron, Julie, Brittin, Nova, Adam, Kim, Carl

If you missed the opening reception, you still have plenty of time to come by Grove Gallery in the next two months to see the show.  Hours are 12-6 Tuesday-Friday and 12-4 Sat/Sun (closed Mondays).  I'm there most Tuesdays if you have any questions about the show.  Also, the First Sunday Gallery Walk for April we will have some snacks and refreshments and I will be demoing my beadweaving.

And no, I'm not tired of making leaves yet...

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the

Arts Council of Greater Lansing